NAIROBI INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY

BRIGHT LEADERSHIP CENTER

PROCESSES OF RECONCILIATION AND HEALING IN THE AFRICAN TRADITIONAL SOCIETIES

Presented to Rev. Musembi

By Mark Egelan Adm No. 1942

April 2011

Out line Back ground information Theories Why cattle rustling is rampant among pastoralists in Africa. The Pokot and Maasai Peace Building Cultures Peace Concepts and Symbols among the Maasai & the Pokot. The Acholi and Karamojong tribes in peace- building Conclusion Definition of terms Bibliography

Background information Africa profiles the highest statistics of violent conflicts in the world; conflicts have for years come informs of tribal strive for scarce resources, others have come in forms of political strive and so forth. Ofuho (1999) in his paper to All-Africa Conference on African Principles of Conflict Resolution and Reconciliation in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia also affirms the fact that conflicts in African continent have been high. Khan, Rafi Shaheen, (2009), Regional trade integration and conflicts resolution, gives Zimbabwe as an example of African country where a nation seems to be at war with itself. He points out that, the political elite are arrayed against its people and that militarism, intimidation, paranoia and fear engulfs the entire society. This is no difference with what is happening in Uganda and even in Kenya where militias from neighboring countries would walk in cause mayhem and go free.

For years the treatment of conflicts in Africa involving national armies revolved around conventional mechanisms that have excluded the traditional approaches that are now in greater demand in the contemporary world, particularly in Africa; The reason being, political leadership in most African countries have lost legitimacy and lacks the confidence to govern. The challenge had also raised concern to the effectiveness of the regional bodies like the east African community (EAC), South African development community (SADC) and so forth in defending human rights through peace building and citizens protection. With this in mind, most African communities have resorted to

approaching peace building on their own by use of olden days strategies which this paper will attempt to put into perspective.

Ofuhos discussion of 1999 brings to light the experiences of grass root peace-making efforts among the communities of the Kidepo Valley of Eastern Equatorial. Kidepo is a big forest that starts from Karenga Hills in the north-east of the border with Uganda and extends deep into South Sudan. Before I delve into this discussion, below are some theories as to why communities involve themselves in conflicts:

Theories Relative deprivation theory Deprivation refers to a situation where an individual or a group may be, or may feel disadvantaged in comparison either to other individuals or groups or to an internalized set of standards. This theory resonates with the common belief of most pastoralists that they are disadvantaged by their governments and thus justification of the aggression they take to their neighbors inform of cattle rustling and strive to occupy certain parts of the country because of the scarcity of resources like water and pasture.

Frustration-aggression theory Individuals become aggressive when they feel frustrated by something or someone they believe is blocking them from fulfilling a strong desire. Among the Uganda Karamoja and the Kenyan Maasai people, there is a common belief that all livestock belong to them, and that all parts of the land are grazing grounds for their livestock. In often times than not, they have fought with their neighbors because of the belief that anybody blocking them from possessing all livestock or grazing any land is denying them their divine responsibility of taking care of the livestock; this will be discussed further though.

Culture of Violence Theory This theory proposes that in large, pluralistic societies, some subcultures develop norms that permit the use of physical violence to a greater degree than the dominant culture. Thus societal violence will occur more frequently in violent societies than in peaceful ones. Peerrelationships that support patriarchal dominance of certain societies over the others and use of violence to support it are exemplary of this subculture.

Why cattle rustling is rampant among pastoralists in Africa. Most pastoralists in African attach a greater value to their Cattle herds because they are the main source of income. Cattle can be sold in exchange for other commodities. A cow is like a modern account in the bank. A cow is payable as dowry in marriage negotiations or used in exchange for grain during hunger situations. Cattle are used as a source of milk, beef and cow dung mixed with mud is used for mud-slinging the walls of the huts for shelter.

Cattle are a highly regarded asset and each community believes that all the cattle of the world belong to them by divine right. They also claim that each of them is bestowed with the divine right to retrieve by stealing or armed force all cattle that neighbors possess or which each ethnic group might claim to be their own. Among pastoralists, cattle rustling is mainly carried out by a group of men widely known as moans (warriors) by the Maasai. It is only after groups of Morans from neighboring communities have raided another community's cattle that responses to such incidences have led to conflict.

The Pokot and Maasai Peace Building Cultures The Maasai and Pokot are two ethnic groups that have been involved in ethnic clashes for over a decade. Both groups are found in Kenya, and they come from a Nilotic background, with territories that stretch over the political boundaries of East Africa. Reconciliation among the two ethnic groups is not usually a onetime event, like the signing of a peace accord after battle, it occurs in

series, building on and affirming peace symbols with rituals related to the communitys experiences and memories handed over from past generations.

Peace Concepts and Symbols among the Maasai & the Pokot.

Osotua - This is a Maasai word meaning Peace /Relationship/ or a gift out of a relationship. The umbilical cord is also called "Osotua" to symbolize the first relationship between the mother and child. One does not just cut the Osotua with a knife as it is done in the hospitals today, a prayer has to first be said, and grass tied on the head. Three times the mid-wife has to take the knife up and down and then cuts the relationship. This ritual shows how deep the respect of life is, and the respect for relationship. Grass - This is another symbol used by the Maasai and other groups like the Kalenjin to demonstrate peace in war times and ethnic tensions. Whenever there is a fight and a Maasai picks up grass, the fighting stops because they believe they all come from one womb, one mother and the one relationship. To the Kalenjin grass is pasture and pasture is milk for cows. So grass is a lifesustaining element. Leketio - Among the Pokot is a pregnancy belt called Leketio, which supports pregnancy hence life. This belt is studded with cowrie shells. When the Pokot are fighting and a mother removes her pregnancy belt and puts it between the men, the fighting must be stopped. She does not have to be the biological mother for in this community, a mother is a mother of the community. It is the same among the 18 Kalenjin groups.

The Maasai word for Osotua, is also the word for beauty. They believe that where there is no beauty there is no peace. For the Pokot the word is "Pichio" which also means beauty. Beauty follows peace. Where there is peace, there is beauty. Ol Donyio Mount Kenya is a mountain of peace because it is a mountain of Keri - beauty. Amongst the Maasai it is referred to as "Ol Donyio Keri" because the white glaciers contrast with the dark valleys, forming one sacred mountain. This contrast reflects the contrast in human society. The Maasai accept and follow the philosophy of Osotua, which is not only harmony, but also harmony brought by living with contrast or differences. Thus they say, "In disorder, there is order". This appears again in the discipline of making ornaments. They make 150 different types of ornaments following six aesthetic systems that are based on the understanding of the philosophy of peace. These then relate to other environmental symbols like trees. Trees are still living symbols of peace-making in this part of Africa. Oloip - When the Maasai are making peace they sit under a shade of a particular tree. This shade is referred to as "oloip". But before they sit, each one of them has to drop all the weapons that he is carrying and then proceed under the tree to begin the negotiations. When there has been a murder in the clan or within a group, the Maasai meet under a dead tree where there is no "oloip" because they are discussing something very grave.

The Acholi and Karamojong tribes in peace- building The Acholi tribe was chosen because they occupy the Northern region in Uganda, in both Gulu and Kitgum districts, where war has been raging for quite a long time. The Karamojong were chosen because they are pastoralists, known for cattle rustling in the neighboring tribes in Uganda, Kenya and Sudan. According to the research findings, the Acholi people, contrary to the view that they like fighting, are one of the greatest peace lovers in the country. Their culture respects a lot of traditional methods of conflict resolution. They have well detailed rituals of resolving conflicts. Mato-Oput - means reconciliation among the Acholi. It is a detailed ceremony meant to reconcile conflicting parties. Persons in conflict appear before the council of elders who patiently listen to each party and cross-examine them in order to establish the root causes of the conflict and the guilty party. After a time consuming scrutiny and the guilty party is found, the prescribed therapy must lead to harmony and peace. An animal is sacrificed and the blood sprinkled on the shrine of the God of truth and the reconciler. This is done by an officiating priestly order. These two parties are then required to share their meat and millet bread and eat from the same dish and drink some beer, a symbol of total reconciliation. Mato-Oput is performed in an isolated place or at the bank of the river to chase away hatred and revenge.

The Karamojong The Karamojong on the other hand are known for cattle rustling. This is their way of life. Cattle raids are done when: A father has lost all or part of his livestock through sickness and needs to replace it for instance when livestock is needed for marriage; when a young man has not finished paying the agreed number of cattle to the father of the young woman. To deal with conflicts resolution and healing, one needs to understand the culture of the Karamojong. Usually many lives are lost during the raids. However, on returning home after the raid, some ceremonies are performed to amend the loss of lives taken. This shows that they are not pleased with the killings that they have committed, but their way of life demands it. Despite their being known to be warriors, the Karamojong have various ways of resolving conflicts. Their ceremonies involve elders to sit down and listen. The accused speak one at a time, and decisions are made on the basis of the arguments contributed by each person.

Conclusion The above are some of the different examples of a culture of peace that still exists today in resolving conflict among traditional African societies. Very often ethnic groups that neighbor each other use similar symbols. Peace is a holistic issue, a heritage within different groups in society. Different governments in Africa should try to understand these processes and try to talk to the peace building structures such as elders in bringing about peace. Many governments have tended to use force to bring about calm, in many occasions, government systems have tended to be biased in their operations, one community is severely treated while the other is not. It has been reported that the community that is ill treated take their anger to the favored community and the cycle has been the same for decades. While this was not the trend in ancient days, governments and peace builders need to explore and make use of thr approaches suggested if real peace can be realized in our borders.

Definition of terms Peace: this can mean both positive and negative peace where positive peace is human security and structural stability whereas negative peace is the absence of open use of force but continued existence of structural violence. Peace building: this is the whole process of establishing or re-establishing a network of social relations that facilitate a peaceful resolution of conflict. Conflicts: this is disagreement between two or more parties concerning a given issue due to different interests, points of view, approaches and attitudes. Conflicts reconciliation: this is a comprehensive process in which the underlying causes of conflict are removed so that there are no latent, residual elements which might trigger a return to violence.

Bibliography 1. Donald E. Miller, Scott Holland, Lon Fendall (2004). Seeking Peace in Africa, Cascadia Publishing House, Pennsylvania. 2. Kamukama D. (1997), Rwandan Conflict, Fountain Publishers, Kampala 3. Ofuho, Cirino Hiteng. (1999), Community Conflict Resolution and Reconciliation in the Kidepo. Research paper. 4. Khan R, Shaheen, (2009), Regional trade integration and conflict resolution, Routledge publishers, Madison avenue New York. 5. Rev, Musembi, (2011), Class notes on conflicts transformation course, NIST